Bolgheri, 09:18 A.M.
First produced in 1994, Messorio started as a personal challenge with one of the most planted varieties not only in Bolgheri, but across the Tuscan coast and throughout the world: Merlot. From the start, the idea was to take the best bunches and transform them into an impactful wine with a big personality, staying as far away as possible from the more soft, predictable style that is often associated with Merlot and instead making a thoroughbred eager to win the race. The name “Messorio” refers to the wheat harvest, one of the most fundamental parts of the agricultural cycle
The year began with slightly higher than average temperatures and little rain, leading to a delay in pruning. Spring started with slightly lower temperatures than usual and a continued lack of rain. All of this meant that budding occurred much later than usual (almost four weeks later than normal vintages), starting during the first 10 days of April and continuing slowly, until the last significant rainfall at the beginning of May. From then on, the absence of precipitation together with a rapid rise in temperatures quickly led to flowering and fruit set. These two vegetative phases occurred so quickly that they effectively erased the delay of the spring budding phase. Veraison happened early, especially for Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but also, to a degree, in the case of Merlot. The lack of rainfall all summer influenced the size of the berries and brought about uneven ripening, making it very challenging to determine the right harvest period for each variety and necessitating a higher number of samples and a careful selection of the parcels in order to harvest the areas that were most homogenous in terms of ripening at the same time. The 2022 harvest will most certainly be remembered for how long it lasted. It started early, on August 9, with Chardonnay, and ended nearly a month and a half later, on September 22, with Cabernet Sauvignon, thanks to the onset of rain and falling temperatures starting in mid-August. The rainfall during that period in part saved the vintage, as it led to good yields and excellent ripening of all the red varieties. ->
Denomination: Toscana IGT
First Vintage: 1994
Grape varieties: 100% Merlot
Vineyards: Vignone 1999, Ulivino 2016
Training System: guyot
Yield: 900 gr per plant
Harvest period: first week of September
Winemaking: fermentation and maceration for 30 days in concrete tanks
Aging: 16 months in new oak barrel, conical trunk cask and stoneware amphora
Bottling: August 13, 2024
